If we pay, Doc, can we have a second opinion?

Dr Tia MacGregor, who might have been my ward colleague if I were elected last year has ditched her Young Middle Class Assocation membership card and joined the, er, Young Middle Class PartyTories.

As foretold on Tuesday here, she has joined Paul (is-it-a-middle-name-or-some-affectation-I-ought-to-drop-if-I'm-joining-the-party-of-the-aristocracy) "Austin" Sargent, in taking their little "Independent Group" on Oxford City Council under Mr Cameron's wings. For the moment then it's just the two of them and at least they'll get to remain leader and deputy leader, Nanki-Poo and Poo-Bah, or whatever they want to style themselves.

Quoted in the Oxford Mail, Dr MacGregor said: "So far no one has said anything negative, but I am sure there will be people who are not happy with my decision to join the Conservatives when they voted for a Liberal Democrat."

I can now let you into a little secret Tia that most of your former colleagues were too polite to tell you; one reason you've not heard anything negative might be that most of your constituents don't know who you are. I lost count of how many doors I stood at canvassing last year having to mutter excuses for the Lib Dem councillor they never saw, never heard from and didn't know. And of those who did appear to know you, I sincerely doubt many of them would be happy with your decision.

Apparently "they did not quit the council and call a by-election because of the cost to the taxpayer."

What about the cost to the reputation, already at rock bottom, of the democratic system, the cost to the voters who have been thoroughly defrauded by your actions? In what way have your councillors allowances and time been spent representing them when you're no longer in the party they voted for? Googling around I see that District by-elections cost somewhere between £1500 and £3000 per ward in other authorities. Or about a pound per household. Since, Tia, you say that "I am impressed with [Tory] policies and on a personal level their views on the NHS" (which are what, precisely?) if we can raise that amount privately, will you go and seek a second opinion from your constituents?

And how can your new hero Dave say that Gordon Brown will lack a mandate without a General Election while embracing your treachery and refusal to consult the people who put you where you are?